Clemson notes: Boyd becomes all-time TD leader

By Eric Boynton | Halifax Media Group

Published: Saturday, October 6, 2012 at 10:29 PM.

“We put so much emphasis on third down because it’s the money down,” offensive coordinator Chad Morris said. “That’s something we’ve been really good on the last couple of years we’ve been here. We take a lot of pride on converting third downs. You’ve got to be able to execute short yardage on third down and all the other downs will take care of themselves.”

Trickeration: Clemson has shown an increasing fondness for trick plays and while receiver DeAndre Hopkins was unsuccessful in completing a pass early in the game, he took full advantage of his second chance. After his touchdown catch gave the Tigers a 36-31 lead with 10:29 left in the game, coach Dabo Swinney went for two and the seven-point cushion.

The snap went directly to tailback Andre Ellington, who then pitched it back to Hopkins before he tossed a strike to a breaking Boyd in the right corner of the end zone for a crucial play.

“That was great,” Swinney said. “I know all the guys were excited to finally use it in a game. We have been practicing that play waiting for the right opportunity to use it and it happened to be that day.”

Nuking It: “Nuk” Hopkins entered the game ranked first in the ACC in catches (42) and receiving yards (609) and receiving touchdowns (six) before posting another massive day with seven receptions for 173 yards and two touchdowns. He’s caught at least five passes in all six games, has topped 100 yards in four and caught at least one touchdown in all but one.

Hopkins has eight touchdowns this season and his 17 for his career ties him with Perry Tuttle for third in school history, trailing only Aaron Kelly’s 20. Hopkins declined to answer questions after the game.

Catman: Chandler Catanzaro made all three field goal tries (23, 20 and 21) to make him 11 for 11 on the season and extend his school record to 19 consecutive. His 47 career field goals ties him for sixth all-time with David Treadwell, who was in attendance Saturday celebrating a 25threunion with the 1987 squad.

CLEMSON – Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd isn’t about to go shouting from the rooftops after establishing yet another new high mark in the school’s record book. He deems those personal achievements just part of running the Tigers’ rapid-fire attack.

The junior tossed two touchdown passes in Saturday’s 47-31 win over Georgia Tech to boost his career total to 51, surpassing Charlie Whitehurst for tops all-time. He also ran for a touchdown to tie Whitehurst for second with 59 total touchdowns, trailing only Woodrow Dantzler’s 68.

“Every record is meant to be broken,” Boyd said. “It was exciting to have the opportunity, but I don’t know that I’m going to walk around with a big 50 billboard or anything. A great guy in Charlie had it and we’re just trying to build things around here. It seems like we’re breaking records every week and it’s just one of those things that happens in this type of offense. The main thing we need to focus on is just to continue to win.”

Boyd completed 26 of 41 for a career-high 397 yards and rushed 15 times for a career-high 63 yards. His 460 total yards is second all-time only to Dantzler’s 517 in 2001 against North Carolina State and Boyd’s passing yardage was second only to Whitehurst’s 420 in 2002 against Duke. Boyd is now third with 5,905 career passing yards.

As impressive as he was through the air, Boyd once again was a big difference-maker on the ground, especially when it mattered most. He scrambled for 13-yard runs twice, both times converting third-and-nine on the team’s final possession that put the game out of reach with an 80-yard scoring drive that culminated with under one minute left.

“I learned from situations last year where if they drop eight (defenders into the secondary) during third-down situations, I’ve got to take advantage of those opportunities with my legs and I did a pretty decent job of that, although there is still room for improvement,” he said.

Third Down Thunder: Clemson entered the game ranked first among ACC teams with a 51.2 percentage converting third downs and was mighty impressive once again by making good on 13 of 19. The Tigers also converted their lone fourth-down attempt (to improve to a league-best 6 of 7) while thwarting both Tech tries.

“We put so much emphasis on third down because it’s the money down,” offensive coordinator Chad Morris said. “That’s something we’ve been really good on the last couple of years we’ve been here. We take a lot of pride on converting third downs. You’ve got to be able to execute short yardage on third down and all the other downs will take care of themselves.”

Trickeration: Clemson has shown an increasing fondness for trick plays and while receiver DeAndre Hopkins was unsuccessful in completing a pass early in the game, he took full advantage of his second chance. After his touchdown catch gave the Tigers a 36-31 lead with 10:29 left in the game, coach Dabo Swinney went for two and the seven-point cushion.

The snap went directly to tailback Andre Ellington, who then pitched it back to Hopkins before he tossed a strike to a breaking Boyd in the right corner of the end zone for a crucial play.

“That was great,” Swinney said. “I know all the guys were excited to finally use it in a game. We have been practicing that play waiting for the right opportunity to use it and it happened to be that day.”

Nuking It: “Nuk” Hopkins entered the game ranked first in the ACC in catches (42) and receiving yards (609) and receiving touchdowns (six) before posting another massive day with seven receptions for 173 yards and two touchdowns. He’s caught at least five passes in all six games, has topped 100 yards in four and caught at least one touchdown in all but one.

Hopkins has eight touchdowns this season and his 17 for his career ties him with Perry Tuttle for third in school history, trailing only Aaron Kelly’s 20. Hopkins declined to answer questions after the game.

Catman: Chandler Catanzaro made all three field goal tries (23, 20 and 21) to make him 11 for 11 on the season and extend his school record to 19 consecutive. His 47 career field goals ties him for sixth all-time with David Treadwell, who was in attendance Saturday celebrating a 25threunion with the 1987 squad.